Rating: 
Summary: One of the best films I've ever seen!
Review: ...The film is a simple, poignant, human story that transcends boundaries and sums up the best and worst that humanity is capable of. The background is the Eastern front during WW2. A young soldier's serendipitous success on the battlefield dares him to ask for some home leave. His journey home to see his mother one last time becomes a fable full of humour, bravery, decency and love. The acting is superb and understated - both leads are excellent, the b/w photography is exquisite and yet not intrusive, while the music complements the action and fuels the film's impact. I can't praise this film and its creators, on both sides of the camera, high enough! The film has been available as a comprehensive Russian Film Council DVD. This edition includes French and English dubs, various language subtitles, stylish animated menus, photo galleries, filmographies and archive wartime footage. The film print is fine, but the layer change is rather noticeable and the subtitles occasionally slip by too fast. Most impressive was the low budget interview with the director, Grigori Chukhrai, providing fascinating insight into the Soviet film industry and his determined efforts against the system, to make this film as a tribute to his fallen comrades. The interview ends with brief footage of the stars and director receiving the special award at Cannes. It is with regret I learn that he died not long after making the interview. His son, Pavel Chukhraj, has also achieved international directorial success notably with The Thief ASIN: 0767831063 The Criterion edition boasts a superbly restored print, new subtitles and a selection of photos are used to illustrate an intriguing extra - an early 1960s radio interview with the stars and director in America. Though not as informative as the interview on the Russian Film Council disc, it still provides insight into the journey the film made across the globe. The disc is lovingly assembled with stylish menus and an informative booklet. Best of all, this amazing film is resplendent as never before. And yes, it really is a film worth seeing again and again!
Thanks Amazon!!
Rating:
Summary: amazing film!!!
Review: After waiting for over one hour in line, finally I got a seat just in front of the huge screen. 1960 in Argentina. I was 16 at that time and the beauty, poetry and the incredible use of the camera by Ivashov will remain in my memory and soul forever. I know this because I watched the movie days ago again in the Sundance Channel and I just couldn't stop crying in front of my kids. I hope one day they will have the chance to watch something like this movie and also keep it in their hearts for years to come.
Rating:
Summary: A Russian Classic
Review: Alesha, the protagonist of this classic Russian film, is a good-hearted peasant boy fighting for his family and homeland. When he becomes an accidental hero, he is rewarded by leavetime, which he hopes to spend at his mother's home in a distant village. On his train journey through the wartorn Soviet countryside, he meets and falls in love with a young woman. Through a series of misadventures and delays, Alesha arrives home with little time to visit with his mother. Duty calls, and he must return to the front. This movie is both touching and tragic, and is beloved by Russian people, too many of whom lost sons, daughters, spouses and sweethearts during the Great Patriotic War. How many mothers, like Alesha's, waited and watched toward the west for a soldier who never returned? "Ballad of a Soldier" is a tribute to those lost loved ones who remain in their survivor's memories forever youthful, handsome, innocent, and noble. To deny Soviet citizens this human emotion by relegating the film to mere "propaganda" is cynical and saddening.
Rating:
Summary: Masterpiece
Review: As time goes on, I keep returning to films that exquisitely portray the human condition: films like "The Bicycle Thief," "Forbidden Games," "The Official Story," "Boy," and "Ballad of a Soldier," to name a few. When I first saw "Ballad of a Soldier," I also had under my belt many of the masterpieces of the new wave films from Europe and Asia in the 50s and early 60s. This brilliant film and "The Cranes Are Flying" put another face on the Cold War for me. Most in the West think the United States and allies "won" WWII. Nothing could be further from the truth. Germany invaded Russia on June 22, 1941, and proceeded to destroy their country and over 28 million Russian citizens and soldiers. The battles on the Eastern Front were of such breadth and scope that no comparison is possible in history. For example, in the famous 1943 battle of Kursk (remember the Russian sub?), up to 6,000 total tanks battled over a 200-mile front that resulted in a million deaths. This adventure took about 10 days. Stalingrad alone was the beginning of the end for the Germans, resulting in 160,000 dead and 500,000 taken prisoner. The savagery there was literally unspeakable and horrible, and the losses by the Russians were horrendous. Behind the Russians was the butcher Stalin, and in front of them were the Germans, yet in spite of these evils, the Russian people rose up with an incredible sense of protecting their motherland. When the war in the East was over in 1945, the Red Army had destroyed, disabled, or captured 607 German and Axis divisions; Americans and allies, from Africa to Berlin, destroyed a total of 167 enemy divisions. Their total deaths numbered around 8 million. Total American deaths in Europe numbered around 300,000. I mention these facts to belie the notion that most reviewers seem apologetic that this film contained " soviet propaganda," as if that were a discrediting thing. From the Russian point of view, they won the war, and the numbers easily prove it. The Americans invaded Western Europe and courageously fought into Germany. But, without their airpower and bombing of German civilians into the Stone Age, or without the decimation caused by the Russians of 2/3s of German ground forces, D-Day would have been a disaster. This is the background for this film, and its utter faithfulness to any Russian's basic sense of themselves, their country, and their culture rings true throughout. Not to be missed!
Rating:
Summary: More than meets the eye
Review: At first glance, this movie may seem like it is purely Soviet propaganda. Here is a young soldier (Alyosha) who, after a remarkable feat on the battlefield, would rather have a leave from the field to help his mother fix a roof than any other reward. Along the way, he is everything a good son is supposed to be. But there are problems, and many of these are caused because of the country that the Soviets were creating. Transportation, for one example.. Alyosha misses the right train, and then must beg and bribe to be allowed onto another train, and then it is only as a stowaway. There he meets a girl (Shura), whom, if circumstances were different, he might persue. But this is the Soviet Union, and many dreams could never be realized for that very reason.
Rating:
Summary: A memorable classic--deserves to be better-known
Review: I am amazed that most people have never heard of nor seen this wonderful movie. To me it is, quite simply, one of the best movies ever made. I saw it as a youngster when it first came out, at the height of Cold War, in what I think was the first subtitled movie I ever saw. The experience of seeing this movie was almost overwhelming, from the initial scene involving the tank to the powerful ending. It made me realize the universality of humanity and love, even though I couldn't have verbalized it that way at the time. I saw the film again about ten years later, and again many years later, and each time it held up. As with most classics, this film only deepens with repeated viewings.
Rating:
Summary: Unforgettable
Review: I remember seeing this movie when it first came out...and then I saw it again a few years ago. It had the same impact as the first time. The wonderful seen when he hitches a ride with a woman who is driving a truck in the rain and he gets out to push it when it gets stuck...I will never forget that woman...her fatigue, her strength. I knew it was going to be great when he ran after the tank in the beginning, and the camera does a 360 degree pivot. This film is a must for anyone who loves beautifully shot B&W cinematography, and passionate heroic stories. A great "companion" film is "Ten Days that Shook the World", from a book by John Reed (the real-life character in "Reds"). It's a silent movie about the Bolshevic rebellion.
Rating:
Summary: A small masterpiece
Review: I've seen this film about 30 times (now that it's on DVD from Russia, and from a gorgeous print, a few more times). Each time there is something new, something more profound, some small piece of action or shading of character that takes on new meaning. Of all the "war" films, I think this and "The Cranes Are Flying" are two of the most remarkeable to come out of the former Soviet Union during the Cold War period. I was mesmerized by this film the first time I saw and continue to be almost 40 years later. I'm not sure how many other films can make that claim.
Rating: 
Summary: Not really that good...
Review: Like those stirring Nazi propaganda films, this movie has it all: chiseled cheekbones, black&white film, chaste love, sacrifice for country. And likewise, it uses all of those to cover for shallow plot and shameless please-don't-shoot-me-Stalin sentimental storylines. I'll admit it's hopelessly romantic and a good waste of 90 minutes; the scenery is beautiful, the camera-work is great, and the story is calculated to tug at the ol' heartstrings. But at the same time, realize that the emotions you're feeling aren't genuine - they're delivered, from Russia, without love.
Rating:
Summary: My all-time favorite movie.
Review: Movies don't get any better than this one. A young Russian soldier (Alyosha) almost accidentally becomes a hero. To reward him, the General gives him a 4 day leave so he go home to repair his mother's roof before rainy season. The movie is about his eventful trip home. You see the horrors of war in the people Alyosha meets on his trip home. The war itself is never far away-you can hear the steady roar of cannon throughout. This is also one of the most beautiful love stories you will ever see. One of the people he meets on his trip home is a beautiful young girl named Shura. The scene on the train with the vast birch forest passing by in the background is the single most beautiful love scene ever filmed. No nudity, no sex. You long for the two to kiss to consumate their love. This is not so much an anti-war film as a film about the great human tragedy that results from war. (I'm not sure, but I think there is a difference.) Be sure to get the sub-titled version of the movie. I've seen both dubbed and sub-titled and the sub-titled is far superior. I can't recommend this movie high enough. This, along with Fiddler on the Roof and The Wind and the Lion, are my all-time favorites and I wouldn't want to try to pick a favorite amongst the three. But if I did, I think Ballad of a Soldier would get the nod. By the way, you WILL cry! I remember seeing it at a movie theater in Cambridge Mass. in the mid-seventies. Several people leaving at the end of the movie were visibly crying while proclaiming that they never cry at movies. Mike Porter
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